Generally, pourers have a nozzle that is used for the dispensing of liquid and is typically formed as a tube in some form or shape. The pourer further generally contains an air tube that allows air to enter the container as liquid is dispensed; otherwise, the flow of the liquid may be disrupted, as is well known in the art.
When dispensing beverages such as alcoholic beverages, a pourer is placed on the bottle for the purpose of making it easier for the person pouring the beverage to dispense the beverage quickly and efficiently. Typical pourers are not sealable and remain open. The problem of leaving the pourer on the bottle is that at the end of the work day it is necessary to somehow seal the pourer to prevent insects from entering the bottle as they are drawn to the sugars associated with the presence of such alcoholic beverages or other beverages which may then render the bottle useless for future use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,419 partially addresses the problem by placing a lid on the nozzle such that, when the bottle is tilted, the lid opens and allows for the flow of liquid while when placed vertically the lid, due to gravity, closes. To ensure that the air tube is also sealed, the opening of the air tube is inside of the pouring nozzle which, when a significant amount of beverage is dispensed at a time, may block openings, thereby disrupting the regular flow of the liquid. This is particularly disadvantageous for bartenders, whose income relies at least in part on quickly dispensing alcoholic beverage. No other prior art seems to solve the problem effectively.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, it would be advantageous to effectively seal both the pouring nozzle and the air tube of a pourer. It would be further advantageous if such a solution would not impact the efficiency of the work of a bartender. It would be further advantageous if the air tube opening would not be inside the nozzle tube.